The government has pledged to eliminate financial obstacles that prevent Ghanaians from accessing life-saving blood transfusions, signalling a major policy push for equitable healthcare.

Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, the Deputy Minister of Health, conveyed this commitment during the 25th National Blood Donor Day celebration and the launch of the 2026 Annual Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign in Accra.

The National Blood Service (NBS) was held on the theme, “Give Blood, Give Hope, Together We Can Save Lives.”

The Deputy Minister, speaking on behalf of the Vice President, stated that the Ministry is “reviewing ways to ease the financial burdens on families.”

This, according to her, include exploring measures that may reduce blood processing fees over time, so that no Ghanaian is denied life-saving blood because of costs.

“This initiative is part of broader efforts to strengthen Ghana’s blood transfusion system, which includes enhancing infrastructure, equipment, and logistics in regional and district blood services to ensure more efficient collection and equitable access nationwide,” she said.

Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori, Chief Executive Officer(CEO), National Blood Service, highlighted the urgent need for more voluntary donors.

She noted that only 40 per cent of the current blood supply came from voluntary donors, with the majority still relying on family replacement donations.

She appealed to new and existing donors, emphasising that the annual target of 308,000 units was attainable if just one to two per cent of Ghanaians embraced blood donation as a civic responsibility.

The event also served to celebrate and honour exceptional voluntary donors and partner institutions.

In the National Best Blood Donor category, the top three positions went to Andrews Kwasi Siaw of GT. Accra with 63 donations, followed by Joseph Sunny Acquah of Cape Coast with 62 donations, and Adu Gyamfi Buadi of Kumasi with 61 donations.

The National Best Youth Blood Donor was Aaron Obeng of GT. Accra with 41 donations, while the National Best Female Blood Donor was Margaret Darko of Koforidua with 26 donations.

Among the schools, Accra Academy was named the 1st Best Second Cycle School with 491 donations, Kumasi Academy took 2nd with 448 donations, and Koforidua Secondary Technical placed 3rd with 375 donations.